OPINION: UN ‘No’ Vote Condones Sharia Law

Beyond the violence in Las Vegas, it is a sad time in the United States, particularly for freedom. On Friday the Trump administration joined questionable company when Nikki Haley voted against a UN Human Rights Council resolution condemning the death penalty for gays in countries like Egypt, Yemen and Sudan that have been killing gays for their sexuality. While the resolution was another toothless declaration from the UN, it is a poor side join with nations run by militants and dictators under the rule of Sharia law.

Adré du Plessis, Head of UN Programme and Advocacy at ILGA of the UN explained the ‘no’ vote by the US “The United States has the death penalty and has a consistent record of voting no on resolutions that are against it. Essentially, it is important to see the United State’s ‘no’ vote is therefore on the wider application of death penalty – rather than the issues of consensual same-sex relationships.” More likely it is a vote intended not to insult the undemocratic, Sharia law governance of our so-called ally Saudi Arabia.

It is hardly beyond the simple thought that one can separate the need for capital punishment for crimes such as the murder of 9 churchgoers versus a moral objection to a person’s homosexuality, and the US black and white view is unjustified. The ridiculous view that a vote against one death penalty is a vote against all is a tarnish on our standing as a global beacon of freedom. Turning a blind eye to atrocities committed by our allies both weakens the United States globally, and sets a dangerous precedence that threatens our freedoms at home.

Regardless of your religious or personal view on homosexuality, this is a disastrous vote for everything the United States stands for – freedom of speech, freedom of expression and essentially freedom to be who you are. Voting against a resolution condemning the “death penalty” for homosexuality is essentially a vote in favor of murder for homosexuals. A vote in favor of Sharia law. The killing of individuals for their sexuality is nothing more than murder. Calling these killings is like says ISIS delivered the death penalty to Iraqi and Syria Christians for their Christianity, or that the Myanmar military is sentencing the Rohingya to the death penalty for being Muslim. One may not agree with or morally condone homosexuality, but homosexuals should not be killed for being so. Look at the governments of Sudan and Yemen and the freedoms of the people there. Is this what the United States of America should align itself with? We the people deserve and should demand more from our government. Failure to do so will make us all complacent in the downward spiral of our democracy.

It is hardly beyond the simple thought that one can separate the need for capital punishment for crimes such as the murder of 9 churchgoers versus a moral objection to a person’s homosexuality, and the US black and white view is unjustified. The ridiculous view that a vote against one death penalty is a vote against all is a tarnish on our standing as a global beacon of freedom. Turning a blind eye to atrocities committed by our allies both weakens the United States globally, and sets a dangerous precedence that threatens our freedoms at home.

Regardless of your religious or personal view on homosexuality, this is a disastrous vote for everything the United States stands for – freedom of speech, freedom of expression and essentially freedom to be who you are. Voting against a resolution condemning the “death penalty” for homosexuality is essentially a vote in favor of murder for homosexuals. A vote in favor of Sharia law. The killing of individuals for their sexuality is nothing more than murder. Calling these killings is like says ISIS delivered the death penalty to Iraqi and Syria Christians for their Christianity, or that the Myanmar military is sentencing the Rohingya to the death penalty for being Muslim. One may not agree with or morally condone homosexuality, but homosexuals should not be killed for being so. Look at the governments of Sudan and Yemen and the freedoms of the people there. Is this what the United States of America should align itself with? We the people deserve and should demand more from our government. Failure to do so will make us all complacent in the downward spiral of our democracy.